After the flood damage from July 2021 was repaired, train traffic has been running again on the Eifel route between Kyllburg and Gerolstein since Monday. The first scheduled train on the 24-kilometer section left Gerolstein at 5:03 a.m., said a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn in Frankfurt. The trains ran once an hour in each direction.
The tracks destroyed in the flood and nine bridges had previously been renovated. In addition, cables for new technology and signals were laid and six modern interlocking modules were installed. The railway plans to make the entire Eifel route passable again at the end of this year. At the same time, plans are being made for the electrification of the entire Eifel route, which should be completed by the end of 2026.
Sections of the Eifel route had already gone into operation in 2022: trains initially ran again from Trier-Ehrang to Auw an der Kyll, and later to Kyllburg. In a final step, the section to Nettersheim in North Rhine-Westphalia and further north will follow, the railway said.
The flood disaster caused damage of around 1.3 billion euros to the railway infrastructure, especially in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Ahr Valley and West Eifel were affected.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Eifel route from Trier-Ehrang to Nettersheim covers around 100 kilometers. The route to Hürth-Kalscheuren near Cologne is around 160 kilometers long.
Railway project Eifel route
